General systems in the field of FA are a combination of various kinds of devices. The devices that constitute the system in the field of FA are controlled by programmable controllers, which are control units that integrate control processing and information processing. Programmable controllers provided with fans, which are limited-life components, need to undergo maintenance to prevent shutdown and abnormal operation due to aging. There is however a demand for a reduction in the number of times maintenance is performed on programmable controllers. To meet this demand, a method is proposed in which the life of a fan, which is a limited-life component in an apparatus, is determined in accordance with the characteristics of each component and how the programmable controller is operated by the user (see Patent Literature 1).